Before
the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949,
a few ethnic minorities in China were still at the primitive
society stage. They did counting by tying knots and recorded
events by carving on wood. The older generation passed
down its experience in production and life orally or through
demonstrations. Singing folk songs was a way of education
for the young. For some ethnic minorities, learning consisted
in education in monasteries that centered on religious
culture. A few ethnic minorities had started modern school
education, but the number of schools was few and many
of them often shut down for one reason or another.
The central
government paid great attention to EEMP. By convening
a national conference on EEMP, the central government
got to know the conditions of education in areas inhabited
by ethnic minorities and worked out strategies for EEMP
at different historical stages. The first national EEMP
conference was held in September 1951 in Beijing. At the
conference, it was decided to restore and transform existing
schools, open various cultural and educational undertakings
and establish new middle and primary schools in areas
where elementary education was weak. In areas where there
was a fair development of elementary education, it was
decided, attention should be paid to improving teaching
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 quality
and speeding up development. At the conference, it
was also decided that for an ethnic minority group
which has its own language, that language should be
used for all courses taught at middle and primary
schools.
From
then on, ethnic minority autonomous regions, in accordance
with laws and regulations of the state, have developed
education independently, adopting forms of education
that suit local conditions. With support from the
central government, such regions have established
a number of new middle and primary schools, including
boarding schools (primary and secondary) in remote
mountainous and pastoral areas. Secondary specialized
education and higher education have also developed.
During 1950-1958, Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangxi, Qinghai
and Tibet established 10 nationalities institutes.
Such institutes set up preparatory classes and cadre-training
divisions, training large numbers of cadres of ethnic
minority origin for areas inhabited by ethnic minorities.
After 1958, the work of nationalities institutes shifted
to
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